


It's All About Love

by agustdswlw



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: First Dates, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Park Jimin (BTS) is a Tease, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Unsympathetic Deceit Sanders, interviewed by thomas sanders, lizzo references, this is what happens when you throw your hyperfixations in a pot and boil them, virgil is just looking out for his dude, wouldn't you be nervous if you interviewed bts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21771874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agustdswlw/pseuds/agustdswlw
Summary: Thomas Sanders is asked to interview the biggest group on the planet. It goes as you think it would: chaotic and gay.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Jung Hoseok/Kim Namjoon/Kim Seokjin/Kim Taehyung/Min Yoongi/Park Jimin, park jimin/thomas sanders, that's definitely the first time that tags' been typed
Comments: 43
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

This was a very, very important moment in Thomas’s career, he was given the opportunity to interview the biggest boy band in the entire world. The entire. World. His anxiety was skyrocketing to very distressing levels.

“What if I stutter?” he asks Joan, hands shaking. 

“Then you’ll turn it into beatboxing and wow them with your charm?” Joan supplies, trying to keep things positive. 

Thomas sighs, bouncing on his feet with nervousness. 

“Why me, huh? Why not someone with more experience and less jitters for who’s possibly the most influential group of- oh my god they’re in the building, okay, okay, okay, this got very real very quickly.”

Thomas holds his breath as at least five to ten security guards and managerial personnel, all talking in Korean, enter the room. 

Three very tense minutes pass as cameras are set up and Thomas is sat down, the makeup team doing one final pass on his face. 

Everything is set, and he hears some loud voices coming down from the hallway, followed by camera clicking. 

And then they enter, one by one, dressed casual enough to be approachable, but with enough name brands present to make Thomas very intimidated. 

Supreme, Chanel, Saint Laurent. Thomas had never been within the vicinity of someone with this much influence. 

And their faces. Their faces were flawless. 

Cute cheeks, perfectly glossy lips, eyes that stared directly into your soul, cheekbones that could cut glass. They were a walking dream.

They didn’t seem to be too concerned with anything, just going about their daily routine as staff flitted around them like butterflies. Thomas sees one of them say something with the intonation of a joke, and even though he couldn’t understand a word, he smiled when the rest of the band laughed. 

One of them stands up and walks over to introduce himself, making Thomas get up out of his chair as quickly as he could without being suspicious.

“Hey Thomas! Kim Namjoon, I’m the leader and guy who speaks English.” His accent is absolutely adorable and Thomas blushes as he shakes his hand. “Thomas. Thomas, uh Sanders but it sounds like you knew that.” Rambling, the others get in line to greet him.

With varying levels of fluency but overbearing levels of charm, Thomas could tell how they had almost everyone they met wrapped around their finger. Some were quiet, some were loud, but they were all so full of love and it made Thomas’s heart hurt. 

The one Thomas has to remember, Namjoon, does a handshake with some other people directing the interview. 

The prize of food is set down for BTS to chomp on during the interview, an assortment of sweets of all kinds. Thomas had never seen that done before. Some of the cupcakes had a logo on them. Army. He knew what that was, lowkey they scared him, but he figured these guys loved them a lot. Like Fanders, but so, so many more. Stadium filling amounts more.

“So I noticed you guys have some gifts here from your wonderful fans!” Thomas says, trying to break the ice.

“Ahhh, Army!” There’s a chorus of what Thomas can only describe as noises of affection. BTS turns to the camera to shout small phrases of love and care to their favorite people. 

“Why are they called ARMY? Did they do that to themselves? Did you guys call them that?” Thomas asks, curious. 

“It stands for Adorable Representative for MC Youth.” Namjoon explains rather proudly. “Army’s are not only fans but creators of change and bringers of love. It’s all about love.”

Thomas’s heart jumps into his chest. All about love. Wow. 

“You guys always make a point to be positive and heartwarming whenever you can, what are some ways you guys take care of yourselves after a long day of hard work? How do you keep yourselves happy?”

Some offshoot answers, like ‘games!’ and ‘eat pizza!’, but also more composed answers like talking with family, tending to plants, and petting their dogs. How cute.

Thomas beams, every moment spent with them cementing a blossoming affection for each of them. 

“How have you guys handled the constant traveling that you guys do? Do you enjoy it?”

“It’s crazy,” Namjoon admits, (So crazy, pipes up their youngest) “but we love what we do more than anything. It’s all worth it.” 

Thomas looks at the cards he’d been given as he nods in response. Who do you guys want to collaborate with in the West? Wasn’t this interview about them?

“What’s it like, being so incredibly popular in an age where language doesn’t matter? What’s the worst language confusion you’ve had?”

Laughter fills the room as stories are recounted, online translations becoming memes or in jokes. 

“Gotta say, Ellen trying to tell us what hooking up meant was pretty funny.”

“Oh, really?” Thomas says, laughter in his voice. 

Taehyung, the one wearing a red bandanna, pipes up.  
“Army is… too precious. We love Army too much.”

This sends Thomas into a full on laugh, his face flushing red.

“But we do tend to charm some interviewers!” Namjoon laughs that cackle he perfected for the public eye. 

Seokjin wiggles his eyebrows, saying something about being a worldwide charmer. 

“You know what is globally charming? These cute little characters you guys made that have been everywhere recently, I saw these float around on the internet a couple of times and I’ve been surprised at its origin every time. Do you see BT21 in unexpected places?”

There’s lots of nods, and Jimin, with Namjoon’s help, explains the Jimmy/Chimmy/Jimin saga, talking about Jimmy Fallon announcing their MAMA award for Album Of The Year.

“You two have quite the friendship!” Thomas says, watching as the hug from their last interview was replayed. “He seems to like you in particular!” 

Jimin laughs a kind of laugh that sounds like a fairy stealing your jewelry, fixing his eyes on the man sitting on a chair across from them. Target located.

“I like you, too.” Jimin says.  
Thomas, internally, is reeling. He knows such flowery compliments are common from them, but he can’t help but feel personally courted.  
“Thank you!” he says, trying to bring it back to the group. “I like you guys too!” His face is blushing worse than it ever has before. 

“So you guys are doing a lot of year-end performances, which one has been your favorite so far?”

The MMA individual stages, of course, but MAMA Mikrokosmos was the general consensus of favorite.

“It’s in moments like those where we realize Army is our universe, our stars, our galaxy. When you see all those lights, you just feel like you’re in another world.” Namjoon says, with wonder in his voice. 

Hoseok then mentions how it made them all cry and it took a few moments for the members to get their emotions under control.

“Less emotional question, what do you love about being in other countries?”

“You are so accepting. Like here, in America, we were here in June. Seeing all the love made us so happy and so glad to know so many of you guys celebrate love.” Namjoon says. 

Thomas’s heart drops into his stomach. Oh. June. Pride Month. South Korea was known for not being so open on that front. 

Did he just put their career in danger?

“Yes, love in all its forms is amazing!” Thomas says, foot shaking with nervousness. He shuffles through the cards, trying to find an anchor.

He can barely hear past the blood rushing in his ears when he asks a question off the card.

“So, recently it seems you’ve attracted the attention of not only young women but a lot of guys as well! How does it feel knowing you’ve garnered such a diverse fanbase?”

“It means the world to us, knowing our love and our message is not defined by age or gender. We want anyone to feel loved with our music. That’s why our songs are gender-neutral.” 

Thomas is about to combust. Why, why did they put him on this interview-

Unless he had a certain quality they were trying to highlight. 

Some sort of puzzle piece falls into place. 

“As a member of the LGBTQ community, this kind of thing means a lot to not only me but many other people as well. Your boundary breaking means more people can be comfortable with their identities. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.” It was genuine, and the returning thank you’s warmed his soul. 

“Maybe someday, the world will be a more open place for people like us who want to share their stories.” Namjoon said, one arm around each member sitting near him. 

For people like us. Thomas knew why he was called. And that was okay. They were all okay. No matter what people said.

The interview wraps up with Lizzo’s Boys being used as a dance challenge, and Hoseok trying to teach the former theater kid some form of contemporary dance. 

'I like big boys, itty bitty boys, inner city boys, Mississippi boys'

Thomas couldn’t help but become a blushy idiot around them, as they goofed off in the interview room while the cameras finished rolling. 

There was a look of solidarity passed between all of them, knowing what was left unsaid meant everything, but what was said could help the world adjust.

BTS were supposed to file out after that, but not before exchanging numbers with one of their new friends. 

Maybe interviewing the most successful group in the world wasn’t as stressful as it had to be. After all, everybody had something in common. 

The song ends, Thomas chuckling at the irony. Maybe it was planned. Maybe it was just fate.

(Unknown Number)  
: hey, i know what hooking up means now  
: wanna try?

Oh goodness gracious.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days after the interview makes its debut on Youtube, Thomas breaks one of his rules. Stay away from the comment section of a BTS video. He wasn’t sure if it counted when he was in the video, because he always checked the comments of his own.

‘And the award for the most implicitly non hetero interview of the decade goes to this gay disaster’

‘Guys i feel like i’m third (ninth?) wheeling’

‘Man the vine dude had a glow up’

‘He looks nervous af i would be too if i met bts ngl and im not even a fan’

‘Jimmy fallon come get your man’

‘Okay now wheres the kristen stewart and blackpink interview buzzfeed you’re cowards’

‘Storytime: everyone in that room was straight! April fools!’ 

‘So isn’t this basically a b/ts interview come on you guys had the chance and you wasted it’

‘Dude killed it with the questions, army thanks you for your unique questions’

‘This is just flirting. Straight up flirting’  
‘This isn’t straight but you’re right’

Thomas snorts at the top comments, not as much disgusting homophobia as he expected.

‘So are we allowed to call bts gay now or am i still gonna get jumped by a kpoop stan in a back alley’

He rolls his eyes before seeing a reply ‘you must be gay too you can’t seem to get off their dicks go hang out in an edgy memes compilation you zoomer’

Well. That’s enough of that. 

He leans back in his chair, thinking about them. 

Man, talk about out of his league.

Most of them didn’t speak fluent English, they all had vast amounts of money, thousands on thousands of people would put his head on a stick if he even thought about getting close, not to mention BTS had the entire country they came from to represent and if they messed that up there’s no telling what would happen.

Thomas couldn’t move anywhere safely. The media had its eyes trained on BTS, waiting for them to stumble. He had to be very, very careful or else-

“Virgil, knock it off.” he says to nobody.

‘If you date one of them and get exposed you’ll start a nuclear war.’ Virgil supplies.

“How are you making that leap?” Thomas tries to piece it together. 

1(unread) message. Oops. Probably a bad idea to ghost the biggest group in the modern world.

-do you need help hooking up chargers or something i know the outlet ports are different over here

-also which one of you is this?

\--park jimin

-thanks

Thanks for that handy tidbit, Logan.

Thomas adds his contact in under PJM. He didn’t need to deal with everyone asking him why he had that number.

_jiminiefairy has added you on snapchat!  
His notification bar dinged. Thomas reflexively added him back.

This was chill, right? Other interviewers had numbers of famous people, right?

Thomas decides to message him first.  
-Didn’t know you guys had snapchat  
\--yeah we only really use it to talk to each other  
-oh well thanks for adding me! I’m glad we became friends!  
\--no problem, honey boy  
-is that a regional term of endearment?  
\--it’s mine if that’s what you mean  
-oh cool!  
\-- that interview was really fun, i liked the way you talked  
-thanks! I don’t normally do interviews so this was kind of a shock  
\-- but you did good so hush  
-...hush?  
\--shut up and take the compliment  
\--angel

Thomas set his phone down and screeched at nothing. He takes a full minute to scroll through his spotify and send Jimin a link to the title track of the Charlie’s Angels reboot soundtrack, Don’t Call Me Angel. Petty? Perhaps, but a well executed joke.

\--oh m y g o d you americans  
-now what’s that supposed to mean  
\--jimin sent a video, tap to open--

A short clip of the ceiling loops itself before Thomas realizes he should turn the audio on.   
Just let me looove, youuuu, a voice comes from his speakers. That wasn’t a CD track. That was real. He could tell by the way it ended in a soft laugh.

-why do you torment me so  
\--so what?  
-nevermind

Thomas is well aware he cannot and should not engage in a relationship with any of them. For legal reasons. 

‘Did you forget about me, dear Thomas?’ a voice says. Thomas’s mood immediately dipped. Deceit.   
“There are ways to get what you want, you know. You just have to be a little flexible. It won’t be that hard.”   
Thomas grumbles. “What do you want?”

“The same thing I always do. What is best for you.”

“This is the perfect con for you isn’t it, manipulating a guy into a relationship that he has to keep secret unless risking disownment from an entire country?” Thomas knew this was a bad idea. Full stop.

“You’re doing it again, Thomas. Placing a societal ideal before your personal wants.” Deceit’s tone is mocking, daring Thomas to step out of line.

“This is ridiculous, they’re not even into me.” Thomas says, his phone going off.   
\--you gonna accept my love and affection or do i need to come over there and have u catch these hands

-you wouldn’t hurt a fly  
\--ballet legs bitch check it  
-why do my friends always appreciate me so aggressively  
\--idk i guess you just radiate bottom energy.  
-excuse you

Thomas rolls his eyes, doubtful that a man that small and adorable could say anyone had bottom energy.

-you’re one to talk  
He sends, stretching.   
Opening twitter was a mistake. His notifications were so broken the app crashed and reloaded again. 

Oh, because BTS fucking followed him on Twitter.

Thomas was going to scream.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas' phone gets blown up. Also, an unwanted but not rejected idea.

“Joan. Joan. What do I do?” Thomas says, hitting his best friend with a chip to prove his point.

“Act calm and natural and maybe like you don’t have a stupid crush,” they respond, mashing the buttons on the controller as the screen flashes. “This is why I never play online.” Joan says, yeeting the controller onto the couch. 

“But I think I like them. One of them. The short one. Jimin.” Thomas says, every word confirming his suspicions.

“Dude. You can’t date him. You know you shouldn’t. He knows. So why the entertainment of the idea?” Joan says, turning to their friend.

“But Joan, we’re in /love/ and that means the world can suck it!” Thomas says dramatically, clutching a pillow.

“Dude. They’re superstars, they can’t just show up for a booty call.”

/PJM sent a message/  
-just landed in la  
-hoseok is instructing a celebrity dance class  
-wanna come over?  
-namjoons not here

“Joan, keep talking.” Thomas turns over his phone. 

“Shut the fuck up oh my god forget all of what I just said and Tap. That. Ass.” 

“I’m not going to LA-” Thomas says

-i bought u a plane ticket come see us :(

“Oh my god he used an emoji. This is it. This is the beginning of the end.”

“How did you manage to make them fall in love with you?” Joan asks, bewildered.

“I don’t know I just interviewed them one time and suddenly they’re texting me?” Thomas says, bewildered. “And buying me plane tickets?”

-i can see your read receipts

\--I thought you didn’t understand English

-i can understand enough to know that you’re not paying attention to me :(

“Joan. Joan. Hold me. I’m gonna scream.”

“Literally how the fuck- Thomas, you are one lucky man. The universe smiled upon you.” Joan says, watching Thomas realize he had a plane ticket bought for him and then scramble to pack.

\--

Thomas landed in LA a day later. He noticed his own following had jumped considerably, but was too afraid to check out what the Internet was saying. 

Mainly, Virgil wouldn’t shut up. 

“Thomas you have /millions/ of people looking at your every move, if you make one mistake everything is over.”

Thomas groans until Logan pipes up, “Virgil, he isn’t the worldwide superstar in this situation. I’d like you to leave the anxiety of Bangtan to themselves.”

Thomas looked around, seeing his sides in a way only he could, looking at Virgil perched on top of a plane seat and Logan leaning in the aisle, people passing through him. 

“I’m learning their names and oh boy, Thomas. They’ve changed their hair so many times, if you ever go purple again, you’ll be in good company!” Patton exclaims, holding up a brightly colored picture from what Thomas could make out as a screenshot from their song DNA.

“Oh my god I know next to nothing about them.” He says, mouth not moving, but his Sides knew. 

“You needn’t fear! Logan and I have been obsessing over them for the past two hours, we’ll dump the information in your brain when you land.” Roman says, excited.

“We’re finally meeting our prince!” he caws, looking out the tiny plane window.

“Because Thomas is only interested in one of them.” Deceit says with his signature sarcasm, making Thomas want to curl up and not wake up. 

“Isn’t that right? Just the one? You’d never want to be wrapped up in the middle of a group hug after a rough nightmare by /all of them/?” His tone is mocking now, mean and pushing his buttons. 

“Oh! All of them at once! Thanks for the material!” Remus cackles, causing Thomas to groan again and send the Sides back down. That was enough of that.

He thought about what Deceit had said. That’s a different problem, for a different day, not this one.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you give me feedback i'll love you forever


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas goes on a date and gets swept off his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> references to the real restaurant in la i referenced for this
> 
> https://www.yelp.com/biz/vespertine-culver-city?osq=exclusive+restaurants
> 
> https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/california/culver-city/restaurant/vespertine

The plane had unloaded, and Thomas was nervous. So freaking nervous.

“Thomas, oh my god,  _ Thomas. _ ” Virgil says, shaking Thomas’s shoulders, his anxiety absolutely losing it at the prospect of the meeting upon them.

“Virgil, if you don’t knock it off, I’m gonna mess this up. Does that motivate you to shut up? Because right now, I need Roman and Patton at the front. No offense, Virge.” Thomas’s previous angry tone softens into something more forgiving, understanding his anxiety had a nature he couldn’t always control. 

“You called, Thomas?” Roman says, walking behind the suitcase Thomas was dragging as a few people stared at the man that looked like he was talking to himself. He really needed to invest in a bluetooth headset, if only to look like someone was talking to him on the other end.

“Yeah, Princey. This is a real life Disney prince and I need you to make me as attractive as possible for him. I cannot, under any circumstances, make him upset with me.” Thomas says, fearful of all the ways this could go wrong.

“Thomas, bud, you’re already attractive! He likes you! Or else he wouldn’t have invited you!” Patton says, clapping him on the back in the imitation of a father figure. 

“What if it was out of pity?” Virgil says, shaking his hands. 

“Nobody pity-invites someone to LA, Virgil.” Roman fires back, rolling his eyes. 

“But I am a little concerned about his intentions.” Patton admits, clasping his hands together sheepishly. “Does he want a relationship or just to blow off steam? Are you ready for that kind of no-strings-attached behavior? I know I love really, really easily, and I’m worried if we’re not supposed to get attached that I won’t be able to stop myself.”

“That’s a good point.” Thomas says, sighing. “Will I be able to tell him no?”

“Or you could learn to have a one night stand like a normal person.” Deceit says, checking his gloves.

“No, no, no, we’re not gonna do that.” Patton admonishes, shaking his finger. “Thomas doesn’t do that.”

“I’m gonna wait to make any judgements on what I will or won’t do until I see him and talk to him. Trying to sort out what he wants from me before that is stupid.” Thomas says, hand clenching on the handle of the suitcase as he goes through the set of automatic doors.

He sends a message to Jimin.

**Thomas:** I’m here, where do you want to meet?

**Jimin:** aaah! meet me at the vespertine at 8:00 <3 i have a special night planned for us

Thomas chokes, on air, he assumed, seeing as he wasn’t consuming anything. 

A special night? A  _ special night??? _ He was going to explode.

A quick lookup by Logan reveals the place Jimin suggested was an expensive ‘anti-restaurant’, one that subverted the senses to provide a new and interesting experience.

More research on the way to get to his hotel was conducted in the cab, with Thomas eagerly scrolling through photos of elegantly plated food, unique colors and shapes jumping out at him.

“This place has two Michelin stars!” Thomas exclaims, making the cab driver ask if he was okay.

“Just going to dinner with a friend.” he responded, his heart beating so quickly he was worried about going into cardiac arrest.

He walked into the hotel, once he’d finished gawking at the lobby’s intricate art and design, he headed to his room, which was reserved for him by the man whose motives were becoming increasingly cloudy, with a pink note with  _ Thomas _ written on its front placed on the table inside the hotel room.

His hands were shaking as he picked it up, dropping his suitcase.

_ Honey boy, _

_ I hope your flight to LA was fun, I can’t wait to show you one of my favorite restaurants in this city when you get here! I went with Bangtan a year ago and had the time of my life. Vespertine is an experience, so prepare your senses for something magical. I want to get to know you by sharing this moment together.  _

_ I want this night to be perfect <3 just like you. _

_ -PJM _

Thomas screeched and dropped the note.

“Holy shit, he beat me at my own game!” Roman exclaimed, hands clapped on his face.

“If there were any doubts about whether or not he is romantically interested in you, they should be eliminated now.” Logan says, raising an eyebrow.

“What did we bring to wear?” Roman screeches, tearing through the suitcase.

After what felt like hours upon hours of Thomas obsessing over every part of his appearance, his Sides finally all agreed he looked nice.

**Jimin:** i’m waiting outside the hotel, couldn’t wait until you got there so i came to get you myself lol

**Thomas:** Oh goodness, haha, will be out in a few!

He nervously rode the elevator down, a twisting feeling in his gut.

What he found waiting for him, holding the door of a sleek black limo, was an angel.

Thomas’s jaw dropped to the floor, taking in the all white outfit with the strategically placed cutout, showing his honey colored collarbones in contrast with the marble colored cloth, his blond hair swept gently over his brow, and the full pink lips he’d never admit to dreaming of.

“Hello.” His voice sounded heavenly. Jesus.

“I’m ready.” Thomas says, trying to hide the wobble in his voice. He wasn’t sure what that meant, what he was saying he was ready for. 

Maybe he meant he was ready for anything this swan would send his way.

The ride was so nice, with the lights of LA streaming through the windows, with Jimin talking softly about how much fun they had here on their last tour, and how excited he was to come here again.

Thomas can only remember the tastings in flashes. 

The dark, three note pattern in the room.

The stone that was cold, serving the lobster.

The taste of the drinks, tingling his mouth in ways he’d never experienced before.

Jimin, brushing his hand ever so slightly.

The sound of the fire whooshing up from the dish.

The way the lamb was plated, flush amongst the greens.

The small smile he’d catch from Jimin every now and again, making him a mirror to the grin and blush he saw.

The time the instructor asked them to taste with their fingers, with shared glances between the pair as they both couldn’t stop staring at each other.

The drinks with the dark fruity notes, the pure sensuality of them.

Jimin, intertwining his hand as they finish on the patio.

The pure sensory sensitivity he felt, every sound or touch or taste sending a shiver down his spine.

The smooth handle of the limo.

The hand on his thigh.

And finally, the feeling of those angel lips meeting his own.

He felt like he was flying, the feeling of the road gliding under him as a soft hand cupped his cheek, and the tiny little gasp he heard himself emit.

His face was hot, the gaze of Jimin forever rooting itself into his mind.

They’re sitting in the back of the car, staring at each other, pulled away.

“You’re magical.” Thomas exhales, brushing his jaw with his knuckle.

“And you’re precious.” Jimin says, bringing his chin back up to lock Thomas in this state of bliss, his mind a cotton candy haze of  _ never let go of me _ . 

They kissed, for what felt like forever and never at the same time, and when they were out of the limo, Jimin walking Thomas back to the hotel room, does the magic lift and Thomas feels himself snap back into reality again.

This. Was he ready for this?

“I hope you had a wonderful night, Thomas.” Jimin says softly, kissing Thomas’s hand as he stops by his door. 

“Let’s do this again sometime, shall we?” A small smile and- oh.

“You’re not trying to-” Thomas starts.

“I wasn’t going to pressure you. If you’re up for it, I will, but it’s completely up to you. I like waiting to really get to know someone. Y’know, I never got your favorite luxury brand.” He tilts his head, and his smile makes Thomas almost faint. 

“Oh goodness, you’ve already spent enough money on me already, I just want to be with you.” He blushes, running a hand through his own hair.

“Time. The one thing I can’t flutter my eyelashes into getting.” Jimin sighs. “Text me, honey boy. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too. Angel.” Thomas adds, looking down.

He opens his hotel door and goes to scream in his pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas overthinks things and Deceit harasses him again.
> 
> Some derogatory language in this chapter but no slurs, if you can't handle slut-shaming please do not read

Thomas had screamed into his pillow for a solid ten minutes before he decided to get ready for bed, replaying the events of that night in his mind over and over again.

He was brushing his teeth in the mirror when Patton rises up behind him, hands balled next to his face, bouncing up and down.

“Thomas, Thomas, oh my goodness,  _ he’s an angel. _ ” his moral side squealed, shaking Thomas’s shoulders.

“I want to marry him, and I take no criticism of this idea! I’ve already picked out the flowers for the wedding.” Roman said, voice booming in the small bathroom.

“That is a host of bad ideas, Roman, not to mention Park Jimin is not a U.S. citizen, and doing so would significantly complicate the legality of the marriage in his home country.” Logan said, rising up and further crowding the space. 

“Not to mention this guy probably thinks you’re a dumb American who isn’t rich enough for him.” Virgil says, before getting smacked on the arm by the royal side.

“Virgil, I will not have you slander our prince’s name in this space, he loves us for who we are, not what we wear!” Roman says, pointing a hairbrush at Virgil as he backs away. 

“Maybe it’s what he  _ doesn’t _ want us to wear-” Remus says, rising up only to be beaten back down by his brother with his hairbrush.

“You are not about to ruin us meeting the fairy tale husband we’ve been dreaming about for  _ years _ , Remus!” Roman shrieks.

“Give me that.” Thomas snatches the brush back from his side. “Don’t hit your brother with a brush.”

“Yeah,  _ Roman _ , let me fantasize about getting railed in peace!” Remus says, sticking his tongue out. 

“Go back down, Remus, I don’t need that right now.” Thomas says, sighing as he tried to get a handle on the situation.

“Fine! I’ll just pop back up when you’re trying to sleep at night. In the corner. Drinking this wonderful snack this hotel provided us with-” Remus began, before the shampoo bottle was snatched from him by Logan, affixing the intrusive side with a glare as he sank back down, pouting.

“Goodness gracious, you guys, let a man overthink his date in peace.” Thomas complains, rinsing off his toothbrush. 

“Don’t overthink it or  _ I’ll _ be the one keeping you up tonight.” Virgil threatens. “You know how I am with-” he sneers- “ _ romantic outings _ .” 

Logan rolls his eyes in agreement, saying “Romantic outings are difficult to interpret correctly. I’ll be categorizing this data later.”

The other sides sink out, one by one. Except one never showed up.

“Deceit. Come out. Say what you wanna say.” Thomas says, bracing his hands on the counter.

“Dear, dear Thomas.” the cloaked side croons, swiping a hand across Thomas’s shoulders. “Do you really think you’ll get away with this?”

“I trust Jimin to not let this hurt him, if that’s what you’re asking.” Thomas replies, voice tight. He’d never let Deceit hear him say this, but he was afraid of that side of himself. The way he commanded the veil of reality frightened Thomas, and he shuddered at the thought of who he would become if he embraced the lies Deceit had to offer.

“And do you think you’d be able to handle it? Trying to keep things hush-hush? You and I both know your  _ pride _ might get in the way.” Deceit grabs the chin of the human, forcing him to look at himself in the mirror. 

“Say it. Stop lying to yourself, Thomas. Tell me what thoughts keep running around your head.” Deceit whispers into his ear.

The truth was, Thomas felt torn.

It wasn’t just Jimin he was attracted to, and he felt terrible for feeling this way towards so many people, feeling like he was throwing himself at them like- like some sort of-

“Aww, you won’t say it, will you?” Deceit turns his lips down in what should be a frown, but the glee behind it is impossible to mask.

“No. That’s not true. I’m not- I’m better than that-” Thomas’s own faith in himself is slipping, knowing he must be lying to himself if this side came to torment him.

“What would everyone else think if they knew you wanted all of them, like some sort of  _ whore _ ?” Deceit hisses in his ear, bringing his hand up to his human’s neck. 

“That’s not true, plenty of people are in polyamourous relationships and they’re not- like that!” Thomas blurts out, before clapping a hand over his mouth. 

“So you want to be polyamourous with them? Is that it?” He drops his hand from Thomas’s neck.

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Deceit smirks coldly, before sinking down and leaving Thomas to the bitter taste in his mouth.

Thomas had been talking to all of them, appreciating all of their quirks and their differences, slowly developing what he called a crush on all of them.

He loved how Namjoon would send him pictures of cute dogs and pretty plants he found, he loved how Taehyung would pose in fun places and show him the pictures later, he loved how Seokjin always snapped him the food he made with a cute caption like ‘wish you could split this with me i made too much’.

He loved when Yoongi would send him snippets of his newest songs, or when Jungkook kept challenging him to online games, or when Hoseok would send him a playlist he’d been listening to. It made him feel loved.

The messages he exchanged with the seven of them were the highlights of his day, and he felt terrible for leading them all on.

Or did he? It’s not like they didn’t know they were all talking to him. Hell, they probably gossiped about him.

The thought sent shivers down his spine. What did they say about him when he wasn’t around? How did they talk about him? Did they like him? Did they  _ all  _ like him?

He imagined Jimin sauntering back to his group, cooing over how sweet the boy he swept off his feet was, how wide eyed and precious he was, how he wanted to drip him in gold and designer, and the others, the others, laughing in agreement, opening the private conversations they had with each other, showing him off-  _ showing him off _ \- 

He threw his head into the pillow and screamed again. Why did he have to think about this? Why couldn’t he date one of them and be happy? Why did his heart scream for all of them? 

He slept that night with thoughts running through his head that he couldn’t control, and a guilt he couldn’t soothe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm frankly surprised i got this out my writing juice has been low lately but the 2 people that commented on this fic the last week this is for you


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jimin suffers, BTS is waiting their turn, and Thomas prepares to see an oscar winning film

Jimin closed the door of the limousine, asking the driver to take him back to his group, opening the groupchat.

**Jimin** : guys he’s so cute oh my god- he’s so precious i wanna smooch his face

**Hoseok:** how did it go?????? details or we riot

**Jimin:** his eyes look like honey stuck on a tree in a magical forest and i’m #whipped

**Jungkook:** the important question here: who gets him next?

**Seokjin:** Guys, we talked about this. We’re not going to pass him around like a toy, we’re each going to spend our time making him feel loved, alright?

**Taehyung:** so operation: romance pretty interview boy is still a go?

**Namjoon:** He has a name-

**Taehyung** : yeah i know i just like calling him pretty boy 

**Yoongi:** he likes being called pretty boy if my research proves anything.

**Jungkook:** you didn’t break the rule hyung, right?

**Yoongi:** of course no trying to seduce him until we’ve all got a date under our belts

**Hoseok** : is anyone planning on taking him to a movie because dibs

**Namjoon:** Go ahead, Hobi!

**Jimin** : his lips were so soft you guys will love him i promise 

**Jungkook:** don’t tease us :((((

**Jimin:** his hands were just a little shaky and he looked so innocent 

**Seokjin:** Don’t tease us, Minnie- I want to take him out now-

Jimin snickered as he put his phone down, listening to it buzz as his teasing took root. He loved seeing the look in Thomas’s eyes when he got anxious, and the way he’d look down and blush whenever he showed the other affection.

He was sure that the date they’d had was a success, knowing the small giggles and hand holding fluttered in his heart, and confident those feelings were mirrored.

He exited the limo and took the elevator back up to his room, in no major hurry to end the night.

Twisting the cap off of his skincare product, he started to wash his face, unable to stop thinking about his date.

He knew Thomas was nervous about the whole dating-a-member-of-BTS situation in secret, and he felt bad for not being able to give him the peace of mind he deserved. He wanted to take him back to Bangtan, to tell them how sweet and nice he was. 

He has to shake his head to clear his mind, wondering what would have happened had Thomas invited him into his hotel room. 

No, not yet. Wait until everyone has introduced themselves. That’s the appropriate thing to do, right? Give him time?

Jimin ruffles his hair and sticks out his bottom lip in the mirror, posing. Was he this attractive earlier that night? Did Thomas like him?

Obviously, or he wouldn’t have kissed him like he did, duh.

There’s a lotion he pulls off the counter that he uncaps and starts spreading over his face and neck, pulling at the collar of his shirt to rub underneath it. 

He bites his lip. This was going to be hell. 

He tugs harder this time, the cloth pressing against his collarbones, dragging himself forward. 

His hips are flush against the counter now, leaning over the sink, staring at his face in the mirror. He reaches out a hand to touch the cool glass, dragging his fingers down next to his reflection.

_ He’s giggling, softly, the purple tints in his hair fading into his natural brunet, and his hand is being held above his head.  _

_ “Didn’t know you felt quite this way, Minnie.” he chuckles, laying his head back down on the pillow.  _

_ The sound that escapes his lips is heavenly, sounding like an angel being filled with light, his voice was crescendoing into the stars. _

_ “Please, Jimin, I need you.”  _

Jimin snaps out of his fantasy. Fuck.  _ Fuck. _

He wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight if he kept this train of thought up.

“Damnit, Thomas.” Jimin says to the mirror, going back out to the main room of the suite and crawling into the bed. 

This would be a problem he dealt with tomorrow, right? Right. 

\--

Turns out the biggest problem for tomorrow started with Hoseok.

“We’re going to see Parasite together!” he exclaimed, causing a still-sleepy Yoongi to grimace. 

“Oh, awesome!” Namjoon exclaims, passing toast to Jin. “Do the theaters here use subtitles?” 

“Yeah, I checked! He’s excited, says he wanted to go see it ever since it won an Oscar. I’m just glad there’s one we can both watch with only a tiny language barrier.” Hoseok’s already got his outfit picked out, according to Taehyung he’d spent an hour yesterday talking with various streetwear designers for something that, he quotes, ‘gives those Thrasher on the streets and thrasher in the sheets vibes, y’know?’

“Yeah, good timing for the Oscars, am I right?” Jin jokes, finding it funny there was exactly 1 popular movie they could watch with little to no effort.

“If he comes back and wants to start a revolution that’s completely on you, dude.” Yoongi grumbles, still tired as all hell. 

“All the merrier!” Hoseok replies, squishing Yoongi’s cheeks before hurrying to his room to change.

He’s excited, he thinks, as he grabs the jackets he’d bought yesterday off of the door, holding them in front of himself as he tilts his head.

Which one? The red one? Or the green one?

He eventually decides on the red one, pairing it with the yellow Balenciaga bag he bought a while ago.

This date was going to be a blast.

**Hoseok** : almost ready! Wbu?

**Thomas:** it’ll be a few minutes yet but i will be soon!

**Hoseok:** i’ll be on my way over there in 5 ^-^

**Thomas:** see you soon!!!

Thomas ends up being ready on time, to his own surprise. 

He’s worrying about the implications of this outing with Hoseok, wondering if Jimin knew. He hoped he did. He had texted him about it earlier but he hadn’t read it yet.

“Hey, Hoseok!” he says, waving.

Thomas gets in the car, not a limo this time, thankfully- oh, it’s a Range Rover. He supposes that’s better. Hoseok waves back at him as he slides in next to him.

“So, Parasite?” Thomas asks, taking in Hoseok’s streetwear inspired look. “Have you seen it?” 

“Nah, we’ve been busy with touring these past few months.” Hoseok says, in perfect English.

“I- you’re fluent?” Thomas is bewildered.

“We don’t want to deal with the pressure of ‘make English songs!!’ from the Western market, and none of us like interviews that much.” Hoseok explains.

Huh. “There’s a lot I have to learn about you guys.” Thomas says, still shocked.

“Yeah, there is.” Hoseok smirked, pinching Thomas’s cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super rushed sorry will have more soon- this is to all the commenters who have kept my inspo up for this fic tysm!!

**Author's Note:**

> i think i'm the only person who is genuinely invested in both of these fandoms join me in my crackshipping
> 
> edit: apparently not armyfamders rise up


End file.
